Camp life survey

Fort St. James residents working at the Mt Milligan mine have the opportunity to participate in a nation-wide study on how camp life and long distance commuting impacts their health and well-being.

A new online survey is asking long distance commuting and fly-in, fly-out (FIFO) workers in mining, and oil and gas across Canada about their experiences.

The Centre for Social Responsibility in Mining and the Mining Industry Safety and Health Centre at The University of Queensland is conducting a study to investigate how FIFO work arrangements, long distance commuting, and camp life impact workers’ lives.

Researchers are interested in workers’ opinions about the type of camp accommodation they are staying in, how satisfied they are with their job, and their sense of personal well-being.

The survey is anonymous, and takes about twenty minutes to complete.

This survey was piloted earlier this year in Australia.

A key finding from that study was that FIFO workers need personal space and opportunities for private communication with family and friends in order to maximize their sense of well-being while at work.

Private rooms and good internet connections were sought-after facilities at work camps.

The Canadian study has a second Fort St. James connection. Dr Janis Shandro from UBC Mining is the lead on a local project that is tracking the impacts of the Mt Milligan operation on the health and social services, and overall community health and well-being in Fort St. James, Nak’azdli, and Tl’azt’en over the lifetime of the mine.

Dr Shandro is an adjunct professor with the University of Queensland and has helped to develop the Canadian survey into the impacts of long-distance commuting.

The local research project is planning to pull out results specific to our communities and follow up on the national survey with a more detailed one focusing on long distance commuting and impacts on families.

These Canadian studies can be incorporated by extractive industry companies into their planning and social monitoring programs.